It is, of course, traditional at the turn of the year to set out resolutions and objectives for the coming 12 months. The changing of the calendar is a chance to turn over a new leaf, kick a bad habit and take up a new challenge.It is, of course, traditional at the turn of the year to set out resolutions and objectives for the coming 12 months. The changing of the calendar is a chance to turn over a new leaf, kick a bad habit and take up a new challenge.Several years ago I lived with the head of eastern European sales for a large tobacco company. He and his staff all took the first two weeks in January on holiday as sales during these weeks plummeted with smokers trying to end their habit. But by the third week sales had returned to near normal levels.While a great many people set targets for the New Year, few have the perseverance to see them through. On the front cover this month is a close-up of the first TBM to be manufactured for London’s Crossrail project. The cross-London rail line has been more than 30 years in planning and about a decade in design and budgeting. The project has had to adapt itself to the changing political and city landscape but, in March, London mayor Boris Johnson will start the first TBM boring. A core, dedicated team has persevered with this project, understanding its importance and bringing it into construction.In the T&T Awards supplement accompanying this issue you’ll find more stories of project perseverance. Two of the most poignant are the winners of the Overcoming Adversity categories for Endurance and Tour De Force. Sweden’s Hallandsas rail project claimed the Endurance prize for its persistence in the face of repeated and often overwhelming challenges. Extremely hard rock in wet ground with tough environmental restrictions has made the project a very complex challenge to overcome. After some 18 years of false starts the project is making solid progress and is advancing the industry through innovative trials and techniques.The Tour De Force award has been claimed by the Olmas Base Tunnel, which crosses the Andes in South America. The irrigation project is needed to carry water from the water rich east to the desert west. More than a century in the making, this project has had to persevere through squeezing ground and dangerous rock bursting. To face the challenges, the project has relied on a fiercely strong TBM and has devised new support measures to protect the tunnel and miners.But, for many, the challenges of 2012 are not going to be engineering but financial. Surviving the dip in the western economy will need companies to adapt their skills and move to where the work is. When it was in the depths of the great depression, Franklin D Roosevelt told America: "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." Good luck in 2012!
